Pilot Talk

After a couple of years of cautious human interaction, we are beginning to again get out into the world. Aviation events as well as family and school reunions, sporting events, weddings, and even delayed funerals are calling us to attend. Many of us will be using general aviation to travel to these events. Our goal is to travel to and from the event without creating an event of our own along the way.

This video presents some simple ways that pilots can be safer and be better prepared to successfully prepare for and execute the cross-country flight whether it be two-hundred miles, two-thousand miles, or more.

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Associated Online Course

This presentation is also available as a free, online course valid for Wings credit. Please note that the online course includes more supporting material than the webinar presentations. The estimated time to complete the course is one hour 20 minutes. Due to the additional material, the course is valid for 1.5 Basic Knowledge-3 Wings credit. Click here to enroll in the course.

This is a recording of a webinar presented as part of the Avemco Pilot Talk webinar series. We want our return to the airport to be as happy as our departure. But far too many landings end up off the runway. Sometimes these excursions happen when an airplane departs the side of a runway and some happen when the airplane runs off the end. Serious injury or death from runway excursions is not common but does occur. Minor injuries and costly damage to the airplane and sometimes to airport facilities is however a frequent result of runway excursions.

This webinar examined the common causes of runway excursions and offered some ways to help avoid them.

Note: viewing this video does not qualify for FAA Wings credit but does qualify for the Avemco Safety Rewards Program.

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A free online course valid for Wings credit is also available. Click here to enroll.

This is a recording of a webinar presented as part of the Avemco Pilot Talk webinar series. The host is Gene Benson. Presenter Kim Skipper, Avemco Insurance Underwriting Manager, opens the company files to show photos and describe some of the more unusual claims they have processed. Note: viewing this video does not qualify for FAA Wings credit but does qualify for the Avemco Safety Rewards Program.

The information presented is from Avemco’s claim experience and does not necessarily match what viewers might see on NTSB or FAA reports.

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This webinar examines some of the factors that can increase the risks of holiday travel in general aviation airplanes. Strategies to help mitigate those risks are presented. Several recent accidents are analyzed and discussed. The presenter is long-time flight instructor and FAASTeam Lead Representative Gene Benson.

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Autumn offers unique opportunities to view some spectacular autumn scenery or just some general sightseeing. We can be safer if we are aware of some additional hazards and take steps to mitigate the risks. This live webinar address some of those hazards and provides practical risk mitigation strategies. Long-time professional pilot and flight instructor Gene Benson is the presenter.

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Piston engine wear and reliability are well understood if you know what to look for. Engine wear, engine health, and reliability are interrelated. Aircraft engines wear with both use and inactivity. Inactivity actually accelerates wear due to corrosion. This presentation discusses methods to determine engine health and ways to prevent the effects of engine inactivity and corrosion.

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Does flying at night or over mountains give you a bad case of the heebie-jeebies? This presentation takes the mystery out of aircraft engine health by explaining the various methods available to determine precisely the state of your engine’s health at any point in its life cycle. Piston engine wear and reliability are well understood if you know what to look for long before hitting the start switch.

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Can you imagine seeing your windshield suddenly filled with the sight of another aircraft? Can you imagine feeling your airplane suddenly lurch and plummet uncontrollably toward the ground? Many pilots and passengers have experienced the horror of a midair collision. This webinar examines some midair collisions and explores some common methods to help mitigate the risk.

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This presentation provides a behind-the-scenes perspective of when and how Temporary Flight Restrictions are designed and implemented by Airspace Coordinators for the numerous large wildfires that occur each year in the western US. The hazards to aviators flying near fire TFRs are discussed, and several helpful hints and tips for general aviation pilots are shared to assist pilots with making appropriate decisions that reduce the risks of flying near wildfires. The presenter, Kurt Kleiner, is an active CFI with over 4,000 hours logged, who recently retired from a 30 year career as an Aviation Manager with the Bureau of Land Management which included 5 years as a Aircraft Dispatcher, and two years as the National Airspace Program Manager for the BLM and US Forest Service.

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This video, a recording of a live webinar, discusses three kinds of decision making and how we can be better at all three. A featured guest tells a riveting story of an in-flight engine failure. We discuss the decisions he had to make with the information available at the time, from the first indication of trouble through the successful conclusion of the event.

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This presentation provides a detailed overview of a powerful meteorological phenomenon that presents potential hazards to aviators as well as opportunities to elevate one's airmanship skills. We describe three types of mountain wave, their structure, how to predict when and where wave conditions will occur, and the visual indicators that pilots can look for to know where it is safe to operate and identify areas to avoid. It will highlights the challenges and opportunities that mountain wave offers for sailplane pilots seeking high altitude records.

Featuring guest presenter Kurt Kleiner, CFI FAASTeam Rep, and mountain flying enthusiast.

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The application of human factors principles to aviation safety goes back more than thirty years in the airline industry. The application of these concepts has made airline travel the safest mode of transportation on Earth. We can be safer general aviation pilots by applying these fundamentals. This recorded webinar begins by briefly explaining the origin of human factors concepts in aviation safety. It then presents twelve top causal factors of GA accidents, how to recognize them and how to mitigate their effects. Each factor is illustrated by an actual general aviation accident that occurred.

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Did you ever wonder why conscientious, experienced pilots sometimes fly an airplane into terrain or obstacles? This webinar goes beyond the "Probable Cause" of these CFIT accidents and explores some of the human factors that sometimes cause pilots to make poor decisions. Mitigation strategies are presented and discussed.

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Did you ever wonder why conscientious, experienced pilots sometimes run out of fuel or experience a loss of engine power because of fuel contamination? This webinar goes beyond the "Probable Cause" of these fuel-related accidents and explores some of the human factors that sometimes cause pilots to make poor decisions. Mitigation strategies will be presented and discussed.

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This live webinar will examine some interesting and useful concepts of aerodynamics and aircraft performance that might not have been taught or might have been forgotten. We will discuss the practical aspects of the power curve, how propellers really work, the myths of lift and weight, the three turning tendencies, how to load the airplane for optimum performance, and other interesting concepts.

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Recent statistics show that 37% of all non-commercial fixed-wing general aviation pilot-related accidents were categorized as either descent/approach or landing. Pilots of all experience levels and certificate levels are involved in these accidents. This webinar goes beyond the usual discussion of approach and landing accidents and looks at three psychological principles that might become a factor.

This webinar is aimed at both instrument rated and non-instrument rated pilots.

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According to the FAA, the number one cause of fatal general aviation accidents is loss of control inflight. This one hour webinar will examine several recent inflight loss of control accidents, each representing a different scenario. Each accident will be analyzed to determine possible root causes which will reveal some effective mitigation strategies.

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